Three-horse hitch-equalizer.



N. H. KELLAR.

THREE HOR$E HITCH EQUALIZER.

APPLIGATION FILED M Ak.4, 1907.

933 ,3 1 O, Y Patented Sept. 7; 1909.

8 8HEETSSHEET 1.

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THREE HORSE HITGH EQUALIZER.

APPLICATION FILED MARA, 1907.

9 3 3, 3 1 O. Patented Sept. 7, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

zf/x/feza witnesses N. H. KELLAR.

THREE HORSE HITGH EQUALIZER. APPLICATION FILED MABA, 1907.

' 933,310, Patented Sept. 7, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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NORMAN I-I. KELLA or ALTA, 'iLLINoIs.

THREE-HORSE HITcH-EQUALIZER.

Application filed. March 4, 1907. Serial No. 360,412.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NORMAN H. KELLAR, a citizen of the United States,residing. at Alta, in the county of Peoria, State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful. 1mprovements in Three-HorseHitch-Equalizers; and I do hereby declare the followmg to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame. i

This invention has relation to three-horse hitch draft-equalizers forwagons equipped with hounds. I

The invention has for its objects, first, the provision of improvementswhereby the stub, through the intervention of which the hitch is made towagons, can be'arranged and adjusted in order to suit wagons ofdifierent styles and sizes: second, the provision of improvementswhereby the ends of the poles may be allowed to rise and fall without1nterference with the hounds; third,'the, provision of improvementsconnecting the middle whifiietree with the evenerdevices, by whichadvantages are gained; and fourth, improvements in the arrangement ofthe poles and their connecting parts;

The general nature of the invention may be ascertained from aninspection ofthe devices portrayed in theannexed drawings, forming apart of this specification, in View of which it will first be describedin detail and then he claims.

Of the said drawingsFigure 1 is a plan pointed out in the sub'joined ofthe invention. Fig. 2 is a plan of the rear portion of the device,showing the hounds in connection therewith, drawn to an enlarged scale.Fig. 3 is a separate view of the draft equalizer proper. Fig. 4 is arear view of the rear cross bar to the outer ends of which the rearextremities of the poles areconnected,

the hounds and stub bars being shown in ver- Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Sept. 7, 1909.

tends at its ends 12 beyond the sides of the poles and at their rearextremities the poles are connected to the ends of the rear crossbar 13,the poles lying below the cross bar. The connection of the poles withthe crossbars is such as to bring their rear portions closer togetherthan their front ends.

14 designates the yokes connected with the front ends of the poles byusual or suitable means in such manner that substantially one-third oftheir lengths will extend outside the poles, to be yoked to the outsidehorses, and substantially two-thirds will ex tend inside of'the poles tobe yoked to the middle horse.

15 designates the stub, which, in the preferred form, consists of twostout flat pieces of timber converging at their forward ends where theyare secured to the under side of rear ends'they extend under and aresecured to the rear cross-bar 13.

16 designates the hounds of the running gear of a wagon, (forming a partof this improvement) which at their forward portions extend along theouter sides of the stub parts 15, and are pivoted tothem by the transverse queen-bolt 17 l The under side of the crossbar 13 is slightlyrounded, as shown at 18, where the hounds 16 pass under said cross-barso as to allowthe front ends of the poles to rise and fall: withoutaffecting the position of the hounds, or other parts of the runninggear.

19 designates the two evener-bars which are pivotally attached on theouter ends 12 of the cross-ban 11, approximately one-third of the lengthof each extending outward from their pivotal points and'two-thirdsextending inward. A 'whiffietree 20 is shackled tothe outer ends of thecross bars or eveners 19, and the inner ends of the latter are providedwith clips 21 connected thereto in a pivotal manner, which clips areconnected in a like manner to the ends of a short draft bar, 22, to thecenter of which a whifiietree 23 is shackled for hitching the middlehorse thereto.-

24 designates iron braces extending from the inner portion of the rearcross-bar 13 divergently to the pivotal points connecting the even'erbars with the front cross-bar 11. These braces 24 are further. bolted tothe stub end so that the braces serve as means to connect the rear crossbar and stub ends with the outer end of the forward cross bar.

25 are other braces secured at one end to the ends of the rear crossbar, their other ends extending out over the evener-bars 19- at thepoint of their pivotal connection with the ends 12 of the forwardcross-bar l1. The eveners 19 are thus carried between the forward end ofthe braces just described on the forward cross bar. 7 V

The stub is preferably made in two pieces so that itmay be fitted to anywagon. To this end the divergent ends of the pieces constituting thestub, are adjusted on the queen-bolt farther apart or closer together tovary their fit. there the stub is made in one piece, as shown in Fig. 5,of course no adjustment can be effected but it will be secured in placethe same as where the stub is made of two. parts. 7

The back cross-bar 13', being arranged over the queeirbolt, gives theeffect of pivoting the rear ends of the poles on the queen bolt also,so. that the front ends. of the poles may rise and fall without bindingon the hounds. This is ofimportance, because if the poles were maderigid with respect to the hounds or running gear, the wagon could not beadvantageously employed about a farm or on public works or elsewherewhere there are ditches, embankmentsor the like to cross. I have shownthe middle whifiietree as connected to the inner ends of the evenerbars- 19, through the intervention of a short draft bar 22 and clipssecuring its ends pivotal ly to the opposite inner ends of the evenerbars. This construction is also important sinceit performs an importantpart in distributing the work evenly on the three horses. Usually themiddle whiffietree has been shackled to the evener by one or twodevices, as clevices, without a. draft bar 22. Through. the mediumof thebar 22- and its specified connections one outside horse may fall back orget ahead somewhat without aff'ectingthe evenness of draft on the three.

The poles or tongues 10 are brought closer together at their rear endsand diverge at their forward ends to give the horses an equal share ofneck weight and play of the yokes and so that they can back andmove toturn the wagon with readiness and by means of the specifiedconstruction, arrangement and connection of the whiiiietree, the ends ofthe middle whiffletree is brought into line with the outer ones on thepoles without having their ends overlap. In the present use the yoke andevener-bar are both made in sections and the work at both endsequalized.

As shown in Fig. 6 the hack bar, instead of being constructed as a barnotched on its under side, or otherwise constructed to raise it abovethe hounds, may be formed of a bar of metal, 13,, extending from end toend at the extreme rear ends of the poles and curving over the hounds.In some instances this form may be preferred.

By the foregoing it is to be noted that changes may be made in the formand arrangement of parts, within the scope of mechanical skill, withoutdeparting from the nature or spirit of the invention...

That is claimed is- The combination with a pair of hounds; of stub endsheld between said hounds and projecting forward thereof a rear cross barextending across said hounds and the rear end of said stub; a pair ofpoles attached to said rear cross bar and extending forwardly therefrom,said poles being attached beneath the extreme ends of said cross bar: aforward cross bar attached to the forward end of said stubends andextending across and beyond said poles and united thereto at thecrossing points; braces connecting said rear cross bar and stub endswith. the outer ends of said forward cross bar; other braces connectingthe outer ends of said rear cross bar with the outer ends of saidforward, cross bar two. eveners pivotally mounted between said braces onsaid forward cross bar; a link secured to the inner end of each evener;a draft bar secured to said links and a whiflie-tree secured to saiddraft bar and the outer end of each of said eveners, all arranged asdisclosed.

In testimony whereof, I a-flix my signature, 1n presence of twow1tnesses.

NORMAN H. KELLAR.

\Vitnesses H. E. CHARLES, H. H. Lnnon.

